Spotlight on North America

Children's Literature - Ellen Welty

Targeting a reading audience of first and second graders, this title in the "Fast Facts: Focus on the Continents" series is characterized, like the others in the series, by a small map, color photographs and sweeping generalizations. There is a glossary, an index and a brief reading list that includes a website that repeats the information in the book instead of supplementing it. While some of these features are nice attempts to add authority to the information in the book, there is a general lack of editorial quality throughout the text, evident in the sentences that begin with ?And' or ?But,' in the oversimplification of the facts and in the lack of documentation for any of those facts. The countries that make up the continent are not named at all in this book or the others in the series, so based on the sketchy information that is offered, some readers might imagine that the only two countries in North America are the United States and Canada. While there is often a lack of reference material available for the reading level targeted by this series, the price tag for each volume in the series would be better spent purchasing a subscription to National Geographic or a similar magazine. This title is not recommended. Reviewer: Ellen Welty